


Cabin Pressure- London (Christmas Special)

by springhorton



Category: Cabin Pressure
Genre: Christmas Special, First Time, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-12-23
Updated: 2011-12-23
Packaged: 2017-10-27 22:44:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,970
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/300844
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/springhorton/pseuds/springhorton
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Martin finds himself without a place to live for the holidays, will Arthur come to his rescue? And how will Martin react when Arthur lets his true feelings slip?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Cabin Pressure- London (Christmas Special)

Arthur Shappey whistled to himself as he parked the car. He still couldn’t believe that his Mum had let him take the car and it gave him an extra spring in his step. Not that Arthur Shappey needed an excuse to have a spring in his step.  
He walked out onto the airfield where Gertie, his mother’s charter jet, was parked. It was Christmas time, but unlike most years, they didn’t have any bookings. So Arthur had been given the job of giving Gertie a thorough cleaning. He’d been so excited by the responsibility that he couldn’t wait until morning and drove out to the airport that night.  
He climbed up the steps to the door and went inside the darkened plane. He began turning on lights, humming softly to himself as he thought of how to tackle the job. He took off his coat and hat and decided to start in the cargo hold. He figured it would be the dirtiest. He gathered some cleaning supplies and made his way down to the hold. As he stepped down the ladder and turned around, he let out a squeal and dropped everything in his hands.  
Martin Crieff let out a similar squeal at the sight of Arthur. He was only wearing a pair of pyjama pants and quickly grabbed a t-shirt from off of a sleeping bag.  
“Sk-Skipper?” Arthur sputtered. “Wow, you gave me a good fright. Uh, what are you doing here?”  
“Trying to sleep,” Martin grumbled.  
“Yeah, but why are you doing it here?”  
Martin cringed. He had really been hoping to get his situation straightened out before anyone found out.  
“Skip?”  
Martin sighed. “I’ve been kicked out of my attic at the agricultural college.” He sat down on his sleeping bag, punched his pillow and then fell back on top of it.  
Arthur sat down next to him, a quizzical look on his face. “I don’t understand. Why would they do that?”  
“Because I couldn’t pay them anymore,” Martin answered a little more harshly than he’d meant to.  
Arthur just frowned. “What about your van?”  
“It’s old. It’s broken and I don’t have the money to get it repaired.”  
“That’s not good.”  
“No, Arthur, it’s not.”  
“What are you going to do?”  
Martin shook his head. “I guess I’m going to have to borrow a van for awhile.”  
“But you can’t sleep here. Mum-“  
“You can not tell your mother!”  
“You could ask her to pay you.”  
“I’ve done that. She won’t.”  
“She can’t just leave you like this though. Maybe you could come stay with us!”  
Martin shook his head violently and said, “No, absolutely not.” Then he looked into Arthur’s saddened puppy dog eyes and added, “It’s not that bad here. It’s not much smaller than my flat really.”  
They were both quiet for a moment and then Martin felt tears sting his eyes. Arthur put a hand on his shoulder and said, “What is it, Skip?”  
“I’m a complete failure. My father was right. I should have just stuck to being a man with a van.” He tried to hold back his tears, but he failed at that too.  
“I don’t think you’re a failure,” Arthur tried to reassure him. “I think you’re brilliant!”  
Martin scowled. “You think everything’s brilliant, Arthur. Polar bears and automatic electric doors.”  
Arthur thought for a moment and then said, “Well, I think you’re really, really, really, extra brilliant.”  
Martin gave him a weak smile and said, “Three reallys?”  
“Yeah. I mean, you’re a pilot, a captain even and you’re professional and really smart and everything. And you have really nice hair.”  
Martin glanced up at him with a quizzical look. “You like my hair?”  
“Oh yeah!”  
Martin shook his head and started crying again. “It’s ginger for Christ’s sake!”  
“I know. It’s really pretty, all warm and…glowy.” He moved his hand further up Martin’s neck and Martin’s heart skipped a beat. He suddenly felt very confused and looked away as Arthur kept talking. “And you have really long eyelashes, all dark and pretty like your hair. You have big eyes and people think they’re blue, but that’s because they’re not really paying attention. They’re actually blue-green. And there’s that brown spot just over your right pupil.”  
Martin was breathing hard and he slowly looked back up at Arthur. “Why are you saying these things, Arthur?”  
Arthur hesitated and then said, “Because I love you, Skip.” Martin felt himself tearing up again as Arthur continued, “I always have.”  
Martin shook his head, trying to wrap his brain around what he’d just heard. “I’m so sorry Arthur. I had no idea.”  
“That’s ok. I knew you’d never be interested in someone like me.”  
“No,” Martin said, unable to hold back his tears again. He put his arm around Arthur and said, “I think you’re wonderful.”  
They pulled each other into a hug and Arthur stroked Martin’s neck until he quieted. Then he suddenly pushed Martin back in excitement.  
“I know what’ll cheer you up, Skip. We can decorate!”  
“Decorate?”  
“Yeah, for Christmas.”  
“Decorate what?”  
“Gertie!”  
“Gertie?” Martin repeated, chuckling. “Your mother would kill us.”  
“No, she’ll love it,” Arthur said, hopping up. “Come on!”  
Martin let himself be pulled to his feet, shaking his head.  
“We have all the decorations we usually put up in the office and there’s more in the storage room.” He ran for the ladder with Martin trailing behind still shaking his head. They put on their coats and hats and headed out into the chilly night air.  
Arthur found boxes and boxes of Christmas decorations and the two of them started in the cargo hold first. They put up garlands and tinsel and the tree that usually sat in the office so that Martin would have a nice, Christmassy place to sleep. Then they moved on to the cabin and flight deck, beChristmasing them with more garland and tinsel and a few strings of lights. All the while, they joked and laughed, letting go of all their cares. When they were finished, all that was left was a couple of wreaths and a few boxes of multicolored industrial sized outdoor lights.  
They stood in the office and stared at the boxes. Finally, Martin said, “Well, it looks like that’s about it. I don’t think there’s anything we can do with these.”  
Suddenly Arthur’s eyes lit up and he slowly glanced out the window at Gertie.  
“No, Arthur, don’t even think it.”  
It was too late. He snatched up a box and said, “Come on, Skip,” as he rushed for the door.  
“Oh, what the hell?” Martin mumbled and picked up another box.  
They gathered up all the lights and set them down by the plane. Then they pushed over two sets of rolling steps and proceeded to wrap Gertie in Christmas lights.  
“I don’t know if this will work,” Martin said. “I don’t think you’re supposed to link this many strands together.”  
They wrapped the plane from nose to tail, leaving the doors clear so they could get in and out. They put up the two wreaths on the nose and main door and ran an extension cord out to the plane.  
“It’ll work,” Arthur insisted. “It has to.”  
“I agree,” Martin said cheerfully and then added, “It was too much work for it not to.” He picked up the end of the extension cord in one hand and the plug from the last strand of lights in the other. Then they held their breaths as he put the two together. He dropped the cords and the two of them yelled out, jumping up and down and hugging one another, as Gertie lit up like a huge Christmas tree.  
“We did it, Skipper!” Arthur shouted.  
“Yes, we did,” Martin said, wiping laughter tears from his eyes. “Now, let’s get inside. It’s cold,” he added and took Arthur’s hand, dragging him this time.  
They quickly made it back into the plane and down to the warm cargo hold. Martin went down the ladder first, laughing the whole time, followed by Arthur. When Arthur got to the bottom he tripped over his dropped cleaning supplies and started to fall. Martin turned and caught the taller man in his arms and helped him back up.  
“Thanks,” Arthur said.  
“Sure.”  
The two of them stared, breathless, for a moment and then suddenly they were kissing, devouring one another with hungry mouths. They were mesmerized by the feeling of their cold hands exploring each other’s bodies. Arthur tugged at Martin’s pyjama shirt, trying in vain to get it off. He only succeeded in getting a giggling Martin tangled up in it. Finally he yanked it off himself, messing up his ginger locks. Arthur reached over with the intention of straightening them back up, but kept running his hand through instead. Martin closed his eyes and smiled, for once not caring if his hair was a mess. Arthur stared at it and it was like looking into a fire. Almost without realising it, his other hand moved to the waistband of Martin’s pyjamas and slipped inside.  
Martin’s eyes popped open again and his breath caught in his throat. He was learning very quickly that, while Arthur may have been a bit absent minded about some things, it turned out that he was a rather skilled lover. He even had condoms and lubricant handy “just in case.” Martin found himself turning to jelly in his steward’s hands.  
“Arthur,” he moaned. “Where did you learn to do that?”  
Arthur smiled proudly and slid his captain’s pyjamas down. Then he got on his knees and gently took Martin’s throbbing erection in his mouth. Martin cried out as he began to work more magic and soon began to wonder how much more he could take. He wasn’t sure his legs would support him so he put his hand on Arthur’s head.  
“Arthur, wait,” he breathed and Arthur stood up while he caught his breath. They gave each other silly grins and then he added, “What about you? If you keep on like that, I’ll be finished in no time.”  
Arthur’s eyes gleamed and he gave Martin a warm smile. Then he slowly undressed himself as Martin looked on. As the shorts came off, Martin gasped.  
“Good lord, look at that thing!” he exclaimed.  
Arthur looked down in confusion and then they both laughed.  
“You’re um,” Martin stammered.  
“Yeah, I guess it is quite long, isn’t it Skip?”  
“Long? Arthur, you could tie knots in it.”  
The two of them laughed some more and then Martin hesitantly stepped closer. He slowly moved his hands down Arthur’s chest and stomach until he felt a tuft of hair. He took Arthur in his hands and explored the amazing length of his warm, hard erection.  
“Arthur,” he breathed.  
“Skipper?”  
“I want to feel you…inside me.”  
The taller man nodded and then his face lit up. He took Martin’s hand and said, “Come on Skip. I have an idea.”  
Martin didn’t know whether to be excited or worried, but he let Arthur lead him back to the stairs. They climbed up to the cabin and they ran through the aisle naked and stopped at the flight deck. Arthur opened the door, stepped in, and flourished his hand over the captain’s seat like a game show hostess.  
“What do you think?” he asked.  
Martin blushed and shook his head. “I don’t know if we should.”  
“Come on, Skip. It’s your chair.” He pulled him closer and sat down.  
Martin stood there for a moment, wondering if he should throw this one last caution to the wind. They’d broken so many rules, let go of so many inhibitions already, why not this one too? He stepped up to the chair, straddled Arthur’s lap and sat down facing the taller man who was no longer so tall. He took his face in his hands and kissed him slowly and deeply.  
Arthur’s hands slid up and down Martin’s back, moving closer and closer to the curve at the base. They kissed until they couldn’t stand it and then Arthur grabbed the condoms and lube he’d dropped on the instrument panel. They fumbled in their rush, but managed to get back to business.  
Arthur lubed his hand and slid it further down this time. He pushed a finger inside while Martin worked a condom onto Arthur’s long, waiting erection. Both moaned at the feelings and Martin quickly began to thrust back and forth to the rhythm of Arthur’s hand.  
Arthur knew that his captain didn’t need much coaxing so he gently pulled at Martin’s hips. Martin responded by lifting up and letting Arthur position himself underneath. When he was ready, he pushed Martin’s hips back and Martin slowly sank onto his steward. His eyes squeezed shut and he let out a loud groan. For a moment he couldn’t breath, but then his muscles relaxed and he felt Arthur move even deeper inside him.  
“Oh god, Arthur,” he breathed and then lifted back up.  
Arthur began to tease his erection again and Martin felt like his head would explode. Both of their bodies were so ready that they took up a frantic pace immediately. Arthur leaned forward and Martin could feel the plane’s controls digging into his back. They were both breathing hard and moaning loudly and knew that their release was coming quickly.  
Meanwhile, outside, the multiple strands of Christmas lights were putting a strain on the fuses. Circuits overloaded and…Pop! One of the light bulbs exploded.  
“Oh god!” Martin yelled.  
Pop!  
“Skipper!”  
Pop!  
“Arthur!”  
Pop!  
Finally all hell broke loose as Martin and Arthur cried out their ecstasy and dozens of lights all over Gertie exploded like fireworks.  
The next morning Carolyn Knapp-Shappey arrived at the office of her airdot in a taxi. She scowled at her car in the parking lot for a moment and then stepped inside. The office was deserted, but there were signs of breakfast having been eaten. There were two plates and two mugs. She “hmmed” to herself and then glanced out the window at the airfield. She dropped her purse and gasped. Then she walked through the back door and stared.  
What she saw was Gertie covered in Christmas lights along with her son and her pilot sweeping up brightly coloured glass.  
“What have you done to my plane?” she demanded.  
“Oh hi Mum!” Arthur said cheerfully. “We decorated her.”  
“For Christmas, I presume?”  
“Yeah! Doesn’t she look beautiful?”  
“Stunning,” Carolyn answered sarcastically.  
“It does seem that we had a few too many lights strung together though,” Martin said.  
Carolyn turned to him with a sharp look. “I would expect something like this from him, but you, Martin?”  
Martin blushed and stared at his feet for a few moments before looking back up at her. “Actually, I thought it was a very good idea. We weren’t flying anywhere and the plane looks very festive now.”  
Carolyn raised her eyebrows and said, “Oh really?”  
“Yes,” Martin answered forcefully.  
She stared at him for a moment and then frowned. “When did this decorating party take place?”  
“Last night,” Arthur answered. “When I came to clean.”  
“And it took all night?”  
“Well, no-“  
“And what were you doing here?” she asked Martin.  
He and Arthur looked at one another and then Arthur spoke up, “I phoned him to see if he wanted to come help.”  
“Don’t you have your own life and decorating to worry about?”  
“No Mum, he doesn’t.”  
“Arthur,” Martin cut in. Arthur gave him a pleading look and he sighed. “About that…” he started and then trailed off.  
“Yes?” Carolyn prompted.  
“Martin needs you to pay him, Mum,” Arthur said quickly.  
“Oh he does, does he? I believe we’ve discussed this before. I can’t pay him. And when did you start calling him Martin?”  
“Then you can pay me,” he deflected.  
Carolyn chuckled and said, “Why would I pay you?”  
“Because I’m moving out.”  
“Don’t be ridiculous, Arthur. You’re doing no such thing.”  
“Yes, I am,” he insisted. “I…I’m moving out and I need you to pay a salary. You wouldn’t let me starve, would you, Mum?”  
“And suppose I agreed to this, how does it help Martin?”  
“I’ll give him half.”  
Once again, Carolyn’s eyebrows shot up. She felt speechless for probably the only time in her life. She turned to Martin and said, “You’ve agreed to this?”  
“Yes,” he answered.  
She turned back to her son and said, “But where will you live, Arthur?”  
“We’re getting a flat share,” Martin answered.  
“What about your attic?”  
He shuffled a bit and then said, “That’s why I was really here. I couldn’t afford to live there anymore so I was sleeping in the cargo hold.”  
Carolyn sighed and rubbed her brow. “We can’t have that, Martin.”  
“I know. I just-“  
She held up her hand. “Either way, your plan won’t work. Even if I came up with the money to pay the two of you one salary, it wouldn’t be enough to afford a two bedroom flat.”  
Arthur and Martin sheepishly glanced at one another again. Then Martin cleared his throat and said, “Um, actually, we don’t need two bedrooms.”  
Carolyn covered her eyes. “Dear god,” she moaned. Her pilot and steward only blushed and tried not to giggle. After a moment she recovered and shook her head. “Apparently the universe has seen fit to punish me. Fine, I’ll see what I can do.”  
Martin and Arthur yelled out in triumph and began jumping up and down in each other’s arms.  
“For heaven’s sake, pull yourselves together,” Carolyn bellowed.  
“Yes, Mum,” Arthur said and the two of them broke apart.  
Carolyn sighed and shook her head again. “Now finish cleaning up this mess and remove what’s left of those godforsaken lights from my plane.”


End file.
